Indian island locals see themselves victimized under new rules

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI (AA) - Residents of India’s Lakshadweep islands are upset about an administrator accused of proposing measures that hurt and exploit locals.

Locals complain that Praful Patel has introduced legislation without consulting locally elected representatives, which, if approved, would destroy their unique lifestyle in Lakshadweep, a Union Territory off India’s southwestern coast which is controlled directly by the central government.

Patel was home minister of Gujarat state under then-Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the current prime minister. Patel was appointed the administrator of Lakshadweep just last December

In these Muslim-majority islands in the Arabian Sea, Patel has introduced a slew of controversial proposals ranging from a ban on beef to the disqualification of those wishing to run in panchayat or village council elections who have more than two children.

The moves have led to widespread discontent among the local population. The proposals are currently being considered by the Union Home Ministry even as the clamor to scrap them grows louder.

Recently Patel introduced the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Regulation 2021, which empowers the administration to hold anyone in detention without trial for up to one year.

The bill has met with opposition from locals, as they claim the crime rate on the islands is already very low, so there was no need for such draconian legislation.

-‘Local elected representatives will be powerless’

Residents say the Lakshadweep administration aims to usurp the local executive powers of the elected Zilla Panchayat, or district council.

The elected council representatives will not be able to make decisions on many issues that directly affect people such as healthcare, agriculture, education, and animal husbandry and fisheries, as these subjects would come under the direct control of the administration if the proposal is accepted.

- 10 years in prison for selling beef

Patel has also proposed a ban on the sale of beef and the slaughter of cows, calves, bulls, and steers.

According to the draft, in line with Hindu beliefs, no person can directly or indirectly sell, transport, offer for sale, or buy beef or beef products in any form anywhere in Lakshadweep, and violators could face up to 10 years in prison.

Patel has also permitted the opening of liquor bars and shops, saying this would boost tourism on the islands, which are currently a non-alcoholic zone due to their Muslim population.

Currently resorts on populated islands cannot supply liquor, with liquor permitted only at resorts on the uninhabited island of Bangaram.

In another proposal, non-vegetarian food options on the menus of Anganwadi preschool childcare centers could also be eliminated.

- Locals’ land to be acquired for development

Patel has also introduced the Draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation 2021, which would give the administration the power to take over land on the islands belonging to locals for the purpose of development without safeguarding the interests of landowners.

There are plans to build roads according to national highway standards, but locals say Lakshadweep does not need highways, and this would lead to irreparable damage to the islands’ fragile ecology.

Politicians, actors, activists, and locals have now been seeking a recall of the new administrator.

- President urged to reject ‘anti-people’ proposals

Elamaram Kareem, a member of parliament from the Community Party of India (Marxist), has written a letter to President Ramnath Kovind demanding that the current “anti-people” proposals be rejected.

He also blamed Patel for the spread of the novel coronavirus on the islands. In the letter, he said the standard operating procedure (SOP) in force in the Union Territory to curtail the spread of COVID-19 was unilaterally changed by Patel.

"This unplanned and unscientific altering of the SOP has led to the current surge in COVID cases in Lakshadweep, where there was not even a single case reported in the year 2020," he said.

The compulsory quarantine for people entering the islands from the mainland was done away with, with only RT-PCR negative reports required for entry. This led to the spread of the virus on the islands, according to locals.

- Hundreds of jobs lost

"New regulations, including a ban on the slaughter, transport, selling and buying of beef, are an onslaught on the people. Hundreds of casual and contract laborers working under different departments have lost their jobs,” Kareem wrote.

“These measures were proposed so the land and resources of the islands could be handed over to the corporate sector,” he told Anadolu Agency.

“Many big corporations have been eyeing the land here and want to set up their businesses here. The administrator wants to hand over the valuable lands to them. He is furthering the business interests of people on the mainland.”

He said Patel’s aim is to hand over the territory of Lakshadweep to people close to the administration.

“I think he has a few companies in mind and he’s trying to provide land to them. That’s why he’s taking such measures,” said PP Mohammed Faisal, a member of parliament for Lakshadweep.

“The drafts under the consideration of the Home Ministry should be scrapped, as people are against them. Twelve draft notifications are in the queue. People aren’t in a position to respond to them. They’re not in a position to move out,” he said.

- Grave threat to life, culture of the people

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and KC Venugopal, a member of parliament and the Indian National Congress, also opposes Patel’s decisions.

Vijayan said Patel’s actions pose a grave threat to the life and culture of the people of Lakshadweep. He said Kerala has long-standing relations with the islands.

​​Denying the allegations, AP Abdullakutty, national vice president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and in charge of Lakshadweep, said: “People are protesting mainly against the new rules of the administrator. But no new rules have been implemented. Only a proposal on building rules regulations was made, which will be discussed with locals before submitting it to the government.”